How Much Water Should I Drink Each Day?

Our bodies are more than 60% water, but what happens when we’re not drinking enough?

Dehydration is when your bodily water loss is greater than your intake. It’s also one of the common causes of headaches. When you’re not drinking enough water; symptoms range from sluggishness, lethargy and sometimes mood swings. Dehydration can strike in any situation and contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to be hot and sweaty to be dehydrated!

Cognitive decline in dehydration

Failing to rehydrate properly may also cause energy levels and brain function to decline, there’s various studies that support this.

In one study in women, a fluid loss of 1.3% after exercise impaired both mood and concentration, while increasing the frequency of headaches. There are also further studies showing that mild dehydration of around 1-2% of your body weight, can negatively affect brain function in hot and physical conditions.

Now you may be thinking, “2% isn’t much!”. Keep this in mind, for a healthy 80 kg (175 lbs) human, 2% equates to a massive 1.6 litres of lost water from your body. This type of fluid loss is typical when you’re sweating in high temperature conditions or playing sports.

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So, how much water should I drink?

Generally speaking, the recommended intake is about 2.5 litres of water per day, for the average adult. This equates to about 8 – 10 cups or 4 bottles of water (600 ml / 20 oz). Note, I’d prefer you didn’t drink bottled water for environmental reasons!

A lesser known fact is that the food you eat also contributes about 20% (500 ml) of your daily water intake. In combination with a healthy diet, most adults can get away with drinking 2 litres of water each day. Just remember to your increase your intake if exercising or exerting yourself in hot conditions.

Eat fruits and vegetables for water

As mentioned, all fluids found in food count towards your daily intake as your body absorbs water in foods just like it would liquids. Various foods such as fruit and vegetables have high water content and are ideal for supplementing your existing water intake. These fruits and veggies include tomatoes, watermelon, cucumbers, lettuce, celery, strawberries, grapefruit, and oranges.

Are isotonic drinks a smart idea?

It depends. There’s evidence that back up some of the claims made by isotonic drinks such as Gatorade, Lucozade and Powerade. A report from the UC Berkeley found that isotonic sports drinks can be better than water for athletes who participated in long, vigorous physical activity for over one hour. The advantages of drinking sports drinks over typical tap water is the high concentration of electrolytes such as Potassium, Sodium and Magnesium; all of which is lost in sweat.

One of the major counterclaims is often the sugar content found in sports drink. Drinking these beverages when sedentary can actually have a negative effect on your body due to the high sugar content found in some Gatorade variaties. The best advice? Grab the sports drinks when you’re genuinely sweating from playing sport.

Water for weight loss

There are numerous claims that increasing your water intake can also increase metabolism and reduce appetite. One study showed that dieters who drank 500 ml of water before meals lost 44% more weight over a period of 12 weeks, compared to those who didn’t. So, if you’re looking to moderate or lower your weight, drinking more water can actually have a positive influence on your weight loss regime. So drink up!

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